153

This introduction to the panel reviews the early history, changing goals, and future possibilities of the Women’s Classical Caucus as the field has grown and now tries to transform itself to meet 21st-century challenges. This talk will include reflections and short interviews with some of WCC’s early members (many now retired) discussing the motivations behind the foundation of the WCC and challenges the caucus has faced over the years. The presentation will highlight strides the WCC has made, obstacles it continues to face, and potential roles in the future.

I left Yale in the spring of 1977 with an incomplete dissertation to take up a job that turned out to be temporary. Five years as a VAP in a hostile job market changed my mind about who I was. Women who had emerged from grad school with the first burst of Second Wave feminism in the early 1970s had felt this even more severely and founded the WCC to look for strength in unity. My experience politicized me – made me able to see the point of the WCC.

Since the foundation of the Women’s Classical Caucus in 1972, the membership has swelled to several hundred members. Our many members today come from a variety of institutions, are at different stages of their careers, and have different concerns. This presentation discusses the Women’s Classical Caucus’ membership, including membership demographics and how members’ needs have changed over time.

In the 50 years since the founding of the Women’s Classical Caucus (WCC), both the landscape and membership of the profession have changed dramatically. There is much to celebrate in terms of how far our field has come, but also much we recognize that still needs to be done in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in the profession. To meet the current times, the WCC Steering has updated its operating procedures to better utilize the digital environment and meet the needs of its increasingly diverse constituency.

This presentation takes a close look at the pillars of the Women’s Classical Caucus (WCC): membership and mentorship. We discuss how these form a strong foundation to better serve our constituencies. The first part of this presentation will show how a robust knowledge about our membership allows us to build new programming, both in person and virtual. Next, we introduce the new multi-tiered mentorship program, which includes options for year-round mentorship as well as short-term and “on demand” mentorship related to topics such as aspects of the job market, publishing, and pedagogy.

Empathy for the Enslaved?: The Senatus Consultum Silanianum and Popular Protest in 61 CE

Our paper focuses on the Trojan Women Project, a program, now in its second year, that brings together UC undergraduate students and female incarcerated students from the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility to re-write Euripides’ Trojan Women using digital storytelling. As part of the project, the students, free and imprisoned, interpret the play as artist-activists and collaborate to create a video that re-tells the tragedy as a story of recovery after the destruction of Troy.

Over the last 5 years I have taught several college courses behind bars at men’s prisons (medium and maximum security). The discussions, particularly regarding Greek tragedy, have been so thought-provoking and enlightening that I decided to open these up to the broader public. I was able to  do so in the context of my outreach project, “The Public Face of Emotions: Public Engagement, Prison and the Emotions in Our Lives,” supported by a Whiting Public Engagement seed grant, and 2 other microgrants (the Just One Foundation and the SCS).

My paper will discuss a new undergraduate module which I have recently set up at the University of St Andrews, entitled ‘Modern Classics: Applications and Interventions’. It is a ‘Living Lab’-style module with a strong emphasis on helping students to develop as ‘citizen scholars’. Guest lecturers deliver workshops on (for example) ancient democracy and modern politics; ancient migration and modern refugee narratives; historic climate change and modern climate debates; ancient approaches to science and modern constructions of expertise; ancient and modern attitudes to race and gender.

[Formatted title: The Madman’s Choice: Plato and Plato’s Republic in De Re Publica 1.1-12]

This paper will assess Cicero’s self-positioning in the preface to De re publica in relation to Plato (as a historical figure) and Plato’s Republic (as a text) in light of the ancient philosophical debate concerning the contemplative life.